Meant to post a version of this on the exact anniversary date–which would’ve been last Tuesday, the 17th, but those darn 49ers were sort of in the middle of something at that point.

This item would’ve been silly and superfluous amid the NFC Championship Game build-up and maelstrom.

But in Blog World, nothing is ever superfluous, if you just hang onto it long enough.

I won’t do as long a spiel today as I was thinking of doing last week, but still, let me review and spin forward:

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-In mid-January 2007, the Warriors were working through their first season with the charismatic Don Nelson (in his second stint of course) but were 19-20 (then also lost the night of the trade) and had essentially stalled out.

Nelson dropped hints for a few weeks that the roster wasn’t to his liking, bagged the Dunleavy-Murphy forward combination almost immediately and never bought into Diogu.

His unspoken message: The core had to be busted up for tougher, better two-way players, because this was the core that ended up at 34-48 the previous season, and also 34-48 the season before that (with Mike Montgomery coaching).

Don Nelson did a lot of goofy things in his last tour with the Warriors, but this was his best thing. By far.

Chris Mullin was ready for this and had maintained his assets as best he could.

Like him or rip him as a GM, Mullin kept to that belief–you don’t ruin assets, you collect them, sometimes you even over-pay them, you do your best to make the franchise attractive to players, then you get ready to deal when you can.

That’s how Mullin pilfered Baron Davis (for Dale Davis & Speedy Claxton) in Feb. 2005. That was the first move. And then…

In January 2007, with Nelson upping the urgency, Mullin knew that Indiana liked Dunleavy, Murphy and Diogu and knew that the Pacers wanted to get rid of Stephen Jackson at all costs.

So Mullin kept the talks percolating for months, then sprung the deal on Jan. 17:

It was risky because Jackson and Harrington weren’t sure-things in the locker room.

It was interesting, because Mullin was Dunleavy’s No. 1 supporter in the franchise, drafted Diogu and appreciated Murphy.

But the move had to be made. (And it also saved the Warriors’ millions of dollars into the future. That’s how Cohan signed off on it: Money-saver!)

The deal balanced the roster, finally gave Baron some guys who could and would fight and scrap alongside him, gave the locker room a unifying them (second- and third-chance vets) and re-made the roster to Nelson’s specifications.

(Mullin’s third big move was going to be trading for Kevin Garnett–and joining him with Baron–on draft night 2007, but that got botched by Rowell/Cohan and some other factors, including Garnett not being in love with the idea of coming to the Warriors, Rowell & Cohan.)

–So where are the Warriors now, five years later?

They have a charismatic first-year coach in Mark Jackson, who decidedly doesn’t want to change the roster.

They have a new owner in Joe Lacob, who has a lot bet on the Stephen Curry/Monta Ellis/David Lee core–which didn’t win last year after Lee’s arrival and didn’t win in the previous two years when Ellis and Curry played together before Lee got here.

They have an unbalanced roster, and they have some edginess as they vie for what Jackson and Lacob have promised: A playoff berth, THIS SEASON.

They’re 6-11, and just last night got their first victory against a Western Conference team–with 41 of their last 49 games also coming against Western teams.

I see the similarities. I think some of the Warriors do, too. We’ll see what happens.

I’m not saying they should make a move just to make a move. But Lacob & Co. should be getting to the point–or are overdue–where they’ve laid the groundwork for the big move.

They have to be ready to trade some of their favorite players. They have to seek out the chance to break up their unbalanced roster.

Or else they can just keep on piling up those 12th-place Western Conference finishes.

—–my column from Jan. 17, 2007–published on Jan. 18/

How did Chris Mullin do it? I’m imagining a swaying gold watch, soothing words and a soft trip into suggestive hypnosis for the Indiana Pacers brain trust.

I’m thinking Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird will open their sleepy eyes soon and scream in unison: We traded Al Harrington to the Warriors for what?

There isn’t a better explanation, because the much-maligned Mullin did more than just pull a fast one by shoveling Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy and Ike Diogu to his heartland peers.

It didn’t make the Warriors a guaranteed playoff team – we know better than to make those kinds of predictions. But this trade makes them much more athletic and much more relevant, just when they were dipping into concrete boringness.

And Mullin saved himself, too, in the process.

From the bite of Nelson’s running (and brutally honest) commentary. From recent critics like me. From the rising tide of anxiety. From letting his early bad contract decisions continue to haunt him and cripple the Warriors.

Before we go further, let’s quickly run through the pluses and super-pluses of this deal, which:

* Ended the franchise’s strained, over-optimistic dreams about Dunleavy, Murphy and (to a lesser extent) Diogu. The cords had to be cut, probably should’ve been cut last year, and the Warriors weren’t going anywhere until they did the snipping.

Mullin loved Dunleavy’s game, especially, and probably still does, but Mullin had to start acting like a boss, not a buddy-teammate, at some point. He finally had to listen to Nelson.

Let me repeat one last time: Neither Murphy nor Dunleavy can create a shot or play a speck of defense. That is not winning basketball – in fact, in Murphy’s case, it was provably losing basketball. (Worst plus/minus player on the team this season and last.)

* Dumped the bad deals he gave Murphy (owed $42.3 million after this season) and Dunleavy ($37.5 million after this season) without having to give up Monta Ellis or Patrick O’Bryant as enticement.

Unbelievable. The Warriors still will have a luxury-tax crush this summer when Andris Biedrins must be paid and they have to make a decision on Mickael Pietrus. But it’s a lot easier after bouncing two useless players who will make a combined $17.4 million next season.

After Nelson’s tart comments, I thought the jig was up on Dunleavy and Murphy as valued NBA players. Wrong.

Is there a Pacers explanation? Only that they were just as weary of Stephen Jackson and Sarunas Jasikevicius (now Baron Davis’ backup) as the Warriors were of Murphy and Dunleavy, and maybe they can flip one or both to the Clippers for Corey Maggette, who’ll make Jermaine O’Neal feel better about remaining a Pacer.

But I’ll guarantee, if the trade ends up as a wash except Harrington for Diogu, the Warriors win all day and all decade.

* Added Harrington, a combo-forward who fits Nelson’s style and the Warriors’ needs nicely, and Jackson, an aggressive wing player who fits Nelson’s style – though he carries massive behavioral baggage.

Plus neither has a terrible contract. Huge point there.

Think of Davis (happiest guy on earth right now) dribbling, dribbling, defenders all over him at the end of a close game because, heck, why would they concentrate on anybody else?

Now add Harrington (yes, the same guy I thought the Warriors would acquire last summer) and Jackson, and suddenly the defense is torn – double-teaming Davis opens up Harrington, swooping on Harrington frees Jackson, over-focus on both means Davis has a path to the rim …

Now add Jason Richardson, if he returns this season at full form …

In summation, the Warriors save $30 million in long-term money, get better and faster immediately, break up the Murphy-Dunleavy doldrums, keep the Ellis-Biedrins kiddie corps together, make Nelson happy and recommit the Warrior Nation.

Warriors fans are remembering that Mullin was the guy who traded for Davis not too long ago – and forgetting he’s the guy who hired Mike Montgomery and emptied the bank for Murphy, Dunleavy and Adonal Foyle.

“I think what this says is we saw a deal that we thought was going to make us better, and we went and did it,” Mullin said Wednesday.

I don’t know if the slight slump in ticket sales was a factor. I don’t know if he cared about the booing of Dunleavy or listened to the shreddings by Nelson.

But he answered all of those burning issues, with a burst of magic. This was a Houdini trade for Mullin and the Warriors, a franchise-reviving sleight of hand that no one could have foreseen except the man who had the gold watch and performed the hypnosis.

Tim Kawakami

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People rip Mullin as a GM. Yes, he made mistakes. But the fact is, Mullin is the only GM in 17 years who brought GS a winning, playoff team. Think about that.

That squad with Nellie at the helm was pure genius. That was some forward-thinking, next-generation basketball… like Chip Kelly’s Ducks. Wildly entertaining… and now we’ve got Mark Jackson and his stuffy, boring no-excuses ball.

Dan

Hey Tim, I think you have some great points with your criticisms of the Warriors, but I think you’re missing the big issue. You (and Lacob and Jackson) are focused on whether or not this roster can make the playoffs. (I actually think they can but obviously still may not). The problem is, that is the wrong question. That’s the Cohan-era goal – try to sneak into the playoffs every year. We know where that gets us. The question should be can this roster (or tweaks of this roster or this roster maturing) contend for a championship. That’s where the focus needs to be and that’s where the answer is an obvious no. It’s also where I think the new ownership so far is lacking. Where is the plan to turn this into a championship team? It doesn’t have to be this year – Warrior fans will suffer through a year or two or lord-knows more if they feel like there is a plan to get to the promised land. Who cares about the 8th seed? The focus needs to be on championships. I think the new ownership is thinking about this and I think they’ll figure it out, but I also think they’re putting too much emphasis on the 8th seed. That’s a loser’s goal.

Chris Webber

Hopefully, someone in the front office will be crafty enough and have a huge set of balls, to get a similar deal done.

Can’t go forward without making some sacrifices, and right now. They are stationary.

ChuckTylr

The Warriors got incredibly lucky with two trades in the early/mid Chris Mullin era -

I say lucky because they were dealing with a trade partner obviously willing to give up more talent than received because of money issues and/or concerns of the player’s character.

Its unfortunate, only about a year and half after the Jackson/Harrington trade the Warriors essentially started the process of blowing up their roster and negating the good fortune from these two trades.

It stated with trading JRich for Brandon Wright (horrible trade!), continued with Baron’s suprising abrupt departure to the Clippers and soon thereafter Harrington, Jackson, and company followed also.

Sadly, I just dont trust or believe the current Warriors front office (eg – Larry Riley) has the ability to make a savvy trade that will signifcantly help the Warriors as the Baron trade and Harrington/Jackson trades did.

qtlaw

Same things that described the Dunleavy/Murphy team, “can’t play a lick of defense” which is not “winning basketball”, is exactly what describes the current Ellis/Curry/Lee team. History repeats itself.

Okay, so West/Myers need to find someone who loves Curry/Ellis and has a headache on his team, hmmm…. Hornets? Rockets (Morey loves deals, kinda like Billy Beane)?

Woebegone Kenobi

What they need to do is tank this season & hope to heck they get a top 3 pick. Anyone in the top 5 could be a superstar that will be around for the next 10 yrs, We don’t have a superstar on this team, not one. On most good teams Curry or Ellis would be coming off the bench. Lee might be a starter on contending teams. There’s no one on this current roster we can’t live without. Management needs to recognize this and concentrate on acquiring draft picks for the upcoming draft. This nxt draft maybe one for the ages. Why would we want an 8th seed which would leave us nowhere nxt year (yet again)?

Kyle

I think of lot of us W’s fans are totally comfortable with the concept of blowing up the roster and making big trades, but then we hear the names of players who are available and it’s totally lackluster. So, who do you think could be available? (Steinmetz chatted today that some names out there include JaVale McGee, Stoudemire, and Garnett. Of those names only Stoudemire is interesting, and unless we moved Lee we would have 2 high priced non-defensive PFs.)

EvanZ

5 years later we have David Lee. The more things change…

Our Team

Last year was Curry’s second, not third.

PhillyJ

I think Tim should write a Harvard business school case study on the Warriors. I bet that would do well in b-schools studying management and poor operations.

Ron

Good organizations win and bad ones do not. The new regime??? Not off to a great start. Thinking Biedrens would make a 180 looks like a critical mistake. They were trying to get a center so why keep someone you wanted to replace anyway? Just to have a center not good logic, especially when he is grossly over paid. Not amnestying a bad choice especially a big salary guy nobody will want.

qtlaw

Sad state of affairs, Ian Mahinmi & Haddadi > Biedrins.

Dave Silva

trade them all and build through the draft.

the w’s best player would be the 4th or 5th best player on the contenders.

they dont have the right players. they couldn’t land a star.

the draft is loaded.

tear it down and do it right. the fans will still show up.

commish

Where to start? Hyping a D League team so they could market Nelson getting his meaningless record thereby losing Cousins. Or Riley showing his brilliance by taking Udoh before Monroe. Not using the amnesty for Biedrins. Then Smart, no I really mean Jackson, relying on Ellis to carry the team in a one dimenisonal offense and so on. Here is the telling “deal” to me. If we really had all star talent, especially Ellis, Curry and Lee, then finding a decent trade would not be so friggen hard. Is living the Bay Area and playing for arguably the best fan base in basketball such a bad destination for at least one top tier player to want to come? Isn’t that one of the reasons we hired Jerry West–to work some of that magic.

Let Lacob and Co stew in the realities of this team configuration for a while longer. Meanwhile, season ticket holders like me are (already) once again thinking “why did we bother” to believe. Had Cohan not sold the team when he did, we would have not renewed. We are at that point again now, especially if Jackson continues to rely on Ellis to win the game late in the fourth and or uses a “hacking” defense to slow down and then eventually lose the game(s) anyway.

diehardwarrior

u can’t make an omlette without breaking some eggs!

Scott

I agree. This waffling in mediocrity is losing it’s taste. I would stil support the warriors if they actually committed to a plan. I would prefer to trade Ellis for a solid starting 2 guard who played great d and a few draft picks. Look at Oklahoma City. They were afwful for 2-3 years built through the draft and now they are set to compete for championships for the next decade. Lacob: BLOW IT UP!

mike

That’s the truth. Every team since mullin’ squad is marginal. Garnet would have given the warriors the toughness they need. Mullin was not perfect, but I wish we had kept him. We were closer to our goal. To replace him with riley and just hope things work out…isn’t cutting it. Mullin brouught repect to the warriors. He almost made them a destination for top players…almost.

Poundwater

Funny to read how Biedrens was an essential contract come summer time and how POB was something the Warriors were thankful to not having given up. I expect both to be out of the league in 2 years time (I think POB already is).

Kevin Schaefer

Why are the Warriors not pursuing Kenyon Martin?????

robert rowell

this is clearly not a good squad, and lacks talent all over the floor. even a blind man can see that. however, that being said, the W’s aren’t THAT bad enough to tank — but not good enough for the playoffs. moves need to be made and i agree with other posters here, for draft picks. that’s the only way this franchise is going to get better.

and also, calling this team “mediocre” is a stretch at best. mediocre plays .500 basketball. when was the last the these W’s even sniffed that?

This team will never reach its desired objective because of the organizational noise and everyone inside, including the owner thinking they’re the smartest guy in the room.

I’ll tell you who’s smart. . . . Larry Riley.

This guy must be one of the cagiest mofos around to continue to keep his gig, even after his drinking buddy, Don Nelson is long gone.

shocker

Kaman is now available…and he has a nice juicy expiring contract ($14 million)…perhaps the Gun Shot Wounds (self-inflicted of course) will make a trade for him.

BD5

Wow! Great story. It brings back good memories. It’s nice to see comcast sportsnet celebrating the Warriors lone championship in 74-75 and it’s equally nice to celebrate our last playoff team by marking the 5 year anniversary of the trade that solidified the WE BELIEVE team.

After 3 complete years since BD and beginning our 4th year, I see that most of the Warriors anti-BD people were wrong. I recall all of the Warriors organization, talking heads, and pencil pushers were saying how great Beidrins and Ellis were, and that the Warriors had a 3 year plan. Well, now it sounds like we’re going to hit the REBOOT button.

The anti-BD will point out that he was out of shape and point out his statistics in the years after BD bolted. BD excelled in the Nellie run and gun system. BD played under the wrong coach who liked to play a half court offense which consisted of throwing the ball into the low post and shots from the wing and corners. It was not BD’s style of play, so he lost motivation and gained some weight. I believe he would have at least kept the Warriors competitive after the 07-08 with the team they had (JRich, StackJack, BD, and Monta). I mean competing for the 7th and 8th playoff spots is way better than what we had in the last 3 years.

Anyway, the Warriors have definitely improved when the ownership changed to Lacob. Maybe Lacob will refund my season tickets from the 07-09 season when I was a season ticket holder. I still have a credit that I refused to use because of how poorly the Warriors are the last few years. I know Lacob is trying to win because they attempted to get Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard.

However, it’s going to be tough because the Warriors returned to their pre-BD days as the laughing stock of the league. Developing talent and trading them away like the A’s. When you have a playoff team and you break them up two years later, it’s hard for NBA players around the league to take the Warriors seriously. Because of that, legitimate superstars like Howard will NEVER come to the Warriors. They will be overpaying mediocre players like Dunleavy, Murphy, Foyle, Beidrins, etc… They should have paid BD his due because he resurrected the franchise for two years.

The 49ers need to get Peyton Manning, otherwise, they’ll be like the old Cleveland Browns of the 80s and 90s. Great defense, average QB (Kosar), and they could not get over the top.